DAWSONVILLE, GEORGIA-FEBRUARY 2024-The Georgia mountain community of Dawsonville offers outdoors adventures all year round, from hiking mountain vistas, paddling and fishing roaring streams or enjoying serious sport shooting. Amicalola Falls State Park a short drive from downtown offers the highest waterfall in Georgia, only a few miles from the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail.
Dawsonville is only an hour’s drive from bustling Atlanta, but visitors will feel a world away, nestled in a natural mountain oasis.
Take a hike
Dawsonville’s known worldwide as a hiking destination with its Appalachian Approach Trail (418 Amicalola Falls Lodge Road, Dawsonville Georgia 30534, 706-265-8888) to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. It’s conveniently located at Amicalola Falls State Park (418 Amicalola Falls Lodge Road, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534; 800-573-9656) where ambitious hikers may learn about the Appalachian Trail, prepare for the 2000-plus mile trek to Maine and start their journey at the famous stone archway marking its pre-trail beginnings. (Visitors might recognize the arch from the film “A Walk in the Woods” with Robert Redford and Nick Nolte.) The Appalachian Approach Trail travels along Little Amicalola Creek to Springer Mountain where the Appalachian Trail officially begins.
For those who would rather take a shorter hike, the state park offers several trails, including a guided hike up the dramatic cascading waterfall at 729 feet high.
Amicalola Falls State Park offers a cozy lodge situated on top of a mountain with breathtaking views as well as cabins and campsites, but visitors may choose to hike the five miles to the backcountry Len Foote Hike Inn (280 Amicalola Falls State Park Road, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534). Friendly staff greet you at trail’s end and provide a room, meals served family style and one of the best sunrise views in Georgia. And it’s all sustainable. Ask the staff and they’re happy to show off their ecotourism ventures. Backpacker magazine named the trail to Len Foote as one of 36 “Best American Hikes” and the inn was included on National Geographic Traveler’s “Stay List.”
There’s so much more to enjoy in Dawson County, including hikes to Bearden and Cochran Creek Falls, trails along the Etowah and Amicalola Rivers and the 39,000 acres of nearby Lake Lanier. And because it’s Georgia, the temperate climate allows visitors to enjoy the outdoors all year long.
Get on the water
There’s numerous ways to paddle, raft, tube or fish the Amicalola and Etowah rivers within Dawson County. Possibilities range from a quiet paddle down placid waters to white-knuckle adventure. Fishing is available at several seasonal and year-round trout streams and at four lake parks within the county. Fish for bass and other species at nearby Lake Lanier, one of the largest lakes in Georgia with its 690 miles of shoreline, and more than 100 small islands.
One of the most accessible fishing and canoe launch areas is the Edge of the World riverside nature trail (7000 GA-53, Dawsonville, Georgia 30534). The trail follows a 2.5-mile loop through the woods but most people use the half-mile (one way) boardwalk trail (ADA compliant) to enjoy one of the most picturesque and challenging stretches of whitewater in the region. Visitors must possess a valid hunting license, fishing license or Georgia Lands Pass to enter this property, any of which may be purchased online. Note: There is no kiosk to pay onsite and no restrooms.
Take aim
Etowah Valley Sporting Clays (619 Sporting Hill Drive, Dawsonville, Georgia, 30534, 706-265-1611) offers beginners to serious sport shooting enthusiasts numerous ways for clay, skeet, trap and five-stand shoot within the beautiful setting of Dawson County’s Appalachian Mountains. Learn how to shoot safely with Etowah’s shooting veterans, who teach classes to both individuals and groups. The Etowah Valley Mambas, a Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) youth shotgun team, one of only 57 teams nationwide, teaches ages sixth through 12th grades how to develop shooting skills and compete in clay shooting sports. In addition, Etowah sponsors charity events, sporting clay tournaments and clay shooting fundraisers year-round. Staff are veterans clay shooters, so you’re in good hands. Etowah Valley Sporting Clays is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday through Sunday.